Been looking into Istanbul 18"/19" crashes of the Alchemy and Traditional series.
From what ive heard they sound pretty damn awesome and theyre pretty cheap too.

Does anyone have experience with them? I really like the Alchemy 18" Medium/Heavy crashes, but i'd like to hear from someone who owned one before i decide to buy it




This post was edited by Knarf-666 on Dec 30 2010 06:25am

The sound of the cymbals are nice but not consistent from cymbal to cymbal. If you like traditionally made Turkish style cymbals, they're good. But you could consider Bosporus, K Custom/Constantinople, Sabian HH or Meinl Byzance series. Other than consistency, service is the other thing to consider. 2 year warranties on Sabian and Zildjian kinda nice. Pearonally, I like the Bosporus brand of traditional Turkish made cymbals.

I dont really mind the consistancy since in my band I just play with 1 ride, 1 crash and hats. I already have a ride im satisfied with, and i'd just need 1 crash.
The series you mentioned are all VERY pricey compared to the Alchemy series, which is the main reason im considering them. The warranty thing is a good point though, I might have to go for a budget series Sabian or Zildjian

Thanks for the reply

The problem with the consistency thing is the demo one you heard you might like, but the one you end up with could be very different. The first batch of the Istanbul's I heard were thin, dark, smooth and a bit trashy. The next batch I heard were heavy and loud. I suppose if you get a chance to try it first and pick the one you want, that wont be so bad.

Check Craigslist/Kijiji for used Cymbals. ALWAYS buy used, you can get cymbals practically new for less than half the price. You can get a nice K Custom Crash for ~$100, maybe less if you find a good deal.

Although Warranties are nice, if you're hitting the Cymbal Correctly and not tightening/letting the Cymbal move enough, you should never break/crack a cymbal.

im pretty paranoid about buying 2nd hand cymbals my dad drums too, and he had enough bad experiences with it



yeah ill obviously try them out before i buy ^^